Going to Meadowhall Christmas Live next week? Here's how a train strike could cause travel chaos

Music fans attending next week's Christmas Live event at Meadowhall featuring singer Craig David have been told to expect disruption on the day of the show due to a train strike.

The popular annual event, which attracts thousands of people, will be held at the shopping centre next Wednesday - the same day as a rail strike affecting Northern services to and from Sheffield and Meadowhall.

And those attending the show have been told to make alternative travel arrangements - because there will be no trains running after the event has finished.

Train operator Northern has published revised train times to keep customers on the move during the latest round of action by the RMT.

Northern plans to run more than 1,300 services, concentrating its efforts on running as many trains as possible between 0700 and 1900 to get customers into work and home again. Between those hours, Northern will operate around 65% of the normal weekday timetable.

But bosses have warned people attending Christmas Live that they will need to find alternative travel options for their journey home as the last trains will depart in advance of the event’s 8pm finishing time.

On 8 November, Northern expects all services to be busy, especially in the morning and evening peak periods, and is advising customers to allow extra time to travel.

Details of the revised timetables can be found on Northern’s industrial action page at northernrailway.co.uk/strike. This includes information on any rail replacement bus services that Northern will provide.

Sharon Keith, regional director at Northern, said: “We are doing all we can to keep customers on the move on 8 November and will run over 1,300 services on our busier routes between 0700 and 1900. This is our highest service level yet on an RMT strike day.

“Rail replacement bus services are available on some routes where trains aren’t running and we ask everyone to plan ahead and keep checking services on our website.

“Information is being displayed on posters at stations and our colleagues will be across the network supporting customers on their journeys with any help or information they may need.”

RMT’s planned strike action comes despite Northern is investing to modernise the customer travel experience. By 2020 there will be 98 new trains, 243 updated trains, faster and more frequent services, more space for customers, and better stations. By the end of this year over 100 stations will be upgraded and over 30 updated trains are already operating on the network.

As well as the 7 Days singer, there will also be live music and entertainment from a number of acts including James Hype, Matt Terry, Raye, 5 After Midnight and James Cusack. The night will be hosted by Capital Breakfast's Adam & JoJo and Capital's James Cusack will be hitting the decks once again.